Sonic Adventure 2: The Maya Chronicles
by AroAce
Summary: What if a purple hedgehog falls from the sky and into the arms of Sonic the Hedgehog... while he is escaping from prison? A huge plot twist... Sonic Adventure 2: With romance- SonicxOC minor Shadamy, rated for mild language
1. Chapter 1: Alternate Dimensions

**I do not own any characters or content from Sega. Sadly. Enjoy the read!**

~Alternate Dimension

Maya the hedgehog always had a lot of patience. She could maintain her patience through a lot of trials.

Right now, though, Maya was losing her patience. Fast. Why? Because a gigantic robot just smashed her house to pieces. She couldn't believe it. Disbelief turned into anger.

Maya, fuming, started pacing. How dare someone wreck her house! Let alone with a _robot_, who builds giant robots and lets them smash houses?

Maya, still fuming, paused her pacing, well, _stomping_, and started to think. Who hates her enough that they would crush her house? She didn't have to think twice. Lady Eggsworth.

That woman always built the craziest machines, ranting something about taking over the world, and collecting the Rubies of Order. What a nutjob! This, though, was the final straw. The purple blur ran as quick as her legs could take her, which- compared to humans- was phenomenal, in the direction of the robot.

~Regular Dimension

Sonic the hedgehog is having a hard day.

First, the military takes him on a helicopter ride, a _boring_ helicopter ride might he add, so he had to jump down to the city and run through it. That part wasn't so bad, despite the fact a humungous truck tried to ram him down after travelling through the city. Then, the military had the _nerve_ to send a machine to fight him down and try to capture him. Luckily, Sonic was much stronger and trashed the thing, which gave him a moment to escape-

Then the unexpected happened; an ebony hedgehog with red streaks on his quills and a striking resemblance to Sonic steps up, holding a _chaos emerald_. _That's_ why the military was after him! This faker was giving him a bad name!

Oh, was Sonic angry. He was about to pounce the hedgehog while it was looking down on him, but the police showed up, and surrounded them. The fake hedgehog made a hasty retreat using Chaos Control, and left the innocent blue blur to be arrested.

Now here he was. In a prison cell. On Prison Island. Oh joy. Sonic impatiently started pacing back and forth across his cell. He knew his best buddy Tails would pull through for him, he trusted Tails more than anyone else. _I just hope he didn't bring Amy with him_, he thought.

~Alternate Dimension

"Shit!" Maya cursed as a swoop from the robot's arm nearly hit her. The fight had been going on like this for about five minutes, and she was staring to get mad.

"You're getting slow, Maya," Lady Eggsworth taunted, putting a gloved hand to her wrinkled face, "maybe building this robot was too much for you to handle?"

"You wish, Eggsworth," Maya retorted, anger strewn on her face, "mark my words; this will be the last robot you will _ever_ build!"

Maya zoomed behind the robot and started running up its back. Lady Eggsworth swiveled the head of the machine so she could see Maya from the glass cockpit, but to no avail. The purple blur shot up and landed a powerful punch beneath the cockpit and blasted the head off the robot's body. With a loud groan, the body fell to the ground, and the head crashed close by with a sickening crunch. _I guess I was a little bit too mad…_

The purple hedgehog dashed to the area where the head landed, and walked up to the cockpit. Her sapphire eyes scanned through the heavily damaged area, between every bit and piece of broken equipment. Finally, her peripheral vision caught red. Eggsworth. However, the old woman was completely still. Maya carefully climbed over the wreckage so she could reach Eggsworth. Her heartbeat quickened, and her eyes watched for any sudden movement. _Thank god no humans were around here_, Maya thought, _I don't need people snooping around in this sort of danger_.

She reached the heap of red that was Lady Eggsworth, and took hold of the woman's gloved hand. With a slight heave, Maya lugged the scientist out of the ruins of her own creation, and took a good look at the lady.

She always wore a red dress and white gloves, Maya noticed, and looked on her wrinkled face. Shocking red hair framed the woman's head, and there was so much make-up plastered on her face, the hedgehog- and everyone else- thought she resembled that of a clown.

However, that wasn't what Maya was paying attention to. She was looking into her eyes, which were usually covered by round sunglasses. Instead, she saw sky-blue eyes that were almost glossy…

Maya walked up to Eggsworth and placed two of her gloved fingers to her neck, but felt no pulse-

"So the old coot finally fell," said a deep voice that startled the purple hedgehog. Maya was so focused on the fallen scientist she forgot to keep an eye to her surroundings. She turned around quickly and took a fighting stance, but regained herself after she saw who it was.

The president of the United Federation.

He chuckled at her shocked expression. "We were aware Lady Eggsworth was attacking around here, but were not worried because you live in this area. You did dispatch of her quite fast, maybe she was getting a bit old for fighting," he mumbled. The President trusted Maya fully. She was the only hedgehog who talked and had these kinds of abilities around here. Plus, she was purple. Who wouldn't trust a purple hedgehog? He looked over to Lady Eggsworth and motioned his guards to take the woman.

"What are you guys gonna do with her now?" Maya asked tilting her head with a curious look on her face. She was just glad the crazy lady was out of the picture.

"We are going to take her back to Area 50, our researchers think they can bring her back to life without recreating her evil conscious," the President explained. "In the meantime, we are putting the Rubies of Order under your care. We know she had them with her, all five of them powering her machine." With that, he and his men left with the deceased scientist, leaving Maya to the wreckage.

She sighed and with a short leap, landed on top of the pile of carnage. "Might as well start digging," she muttered to herself.

It didn't take long to find the gems, for they were concealed in a glass cylinder. She lifted the case full of gems and with a flick of her wrist, the cap flew off the container. She sat down and strew the multicolored rubies in front of her.

"I just wish I could go back to where I belong," she said quietly. Maya knew she wasn't from this world. It had been bothering her for a while. There were no other purple hedgehogs here, not even a single talking animal. She took a deep sigh, knowing her adventure here was over. "Maybe there's more adventure there…"

She said no more, because the Rubies in front of her started glowing. It was breathtaking the way they glowed, each glow the color of its owner. Maya shielded her eyes as the jewels started getting brighter and brighter-

Everything went blank. The jewels were gone from the scene, and so was Maya the Hedgehog.


	2. Chapter 2: Emerald and Sapphire Meet

**From now on, the rest of the story will be in the same dimension. The story will mainly focus on Sonic and Maya and what they do in the game, based off the Hero section of the game. I'll try to get chapters done as fast as possible, with school and all. Also, I do not own anything from Sega! Enjoy the read!**

~.~

Silence. Just the word seemed to put Sonic on edge. He was supposed to be free as a bird, defeating Eggman whenever the world was in danger, and all he heard was silence, iron bars locking in his freedom, locking in his chance to defeat evil.

Sonic's ears perked ask he heard a small noise above him, followed by another, then another…

It was Tails! His buddy came just in time, right when Sonic was worried the most. He listened to the sounds of metal colliding, and it soothed his worries as the sounds got closer and closer. He started tapping his foot in excitement, and it turned into pacing. There was one final clang, and as Sonic turned around, a small door in the ceiling opened, but he visibly cringed at who it was.

"Huh? Amy-" He tried to ask what she was doing here, but she shushed him before he could.

"Keep your voice down! Have no fear," she walked up and did a little twirl, "Amy Rose is here!"

Sure, Amy was his friend, but Sonic certainly didn't want to date her. Constantly asking him didn't help, either. "How'd you get here?" he asked as he turned around.

"If you gotta know, I caught a ride with Tails." She pulled a colorful key-card from her pocket, "Are you sure you don't need my help?" she asked, pulling a sly smile across her face. "It looks like you could use it."

Sonic started stretching his legs. "The reason I'm in here is because of that fake hedgehog!" He seethed as he remembered red eyes looking down on him.

Amy's eyes widened in realization. He was talking about the black hedgehog! "You mean… that black hedgehog?" She paused as she remembered…

_Amy was strolling near the Prison cells, looking for her beloved blue blur, when she saw a silhouette in the distance. It looked like… Sonic! He escaped! She was so excited, she blindly ran as fast as she could toward the doppelganger._

"_Sonic!" Amy hugged the surprised hedgehog with as much love as she could muster, but when she opened her eyes, she saw black. Looking up, she saw the red eyes of an annoyed black hedgehog._

"_You're not Sonic…" She slowly let go of the look-alike, but kept her eyes on his, as if she were hypnotized…_

She jumped as Sonic interrupted her memory. "Did you see it? Where is it now?" he asked excitedly, completely missing the small blush adorning her nose. Any chance he could get to capture the black menace would make his day. Amy stepped up to the iron bars.

"If I tell you, will you marry me?" she asked, in hopes of ridding her thoughts of her memory.

Sonic stepped away from the bars, annoyed. "No way."

Amy put on a look of disappointment. "I thought I had you this time," she mumbled as she slid the key-card through the lock of the cell. A green light on the keypad lit, and a gate lifted, opening up what seemed like the world to Sonic. "That black hedgehog came here with Dr. Eggman," she reported. He furrowed his eyebrows.

"So Eggman's behind this, huh?" He said as more of a statement than a question, and bolted out the exit as soon as he was finished, leaving the pink girl behind.

"What's all that writing on the wall, anyway," Amy asked, observing the carvings on the cells' walls, "did you write that?" She turned around, and ran when she didn't see the blue hedgehog with her. "Wait for me, Sonic! He's such a brat sometimes," she mumbled. If she couldn't catch up, she'd just travel with Tails again.

~.~

As soon as he got outside, Sonic took a deep breath, smelling the air. _Smells like freedom_, he thought, smiling. He looked up to the blue sky, and took a moment to gaze at the clouds. It was one of his favorite past-times, and being in a jail cell deprived him of it. _Guards probably don't know I'm out yet_. A bright flash in the sky interrupted his thoughts, and he stared to the heavens as he watched a hole rip the beautiful blue sky above him.

The next thing that happened really baffled him; a purple object started emerging from the hole, and as more of it appeared, he realized it was a person- a hedgehog! And it was about to crash into the ground! Sonic quickly dashed under the hole and held his arms out.

The purple hedgehog landed safely in his grasp, and he let out a breath he was unconsciously holding, but quickly took it back in at the sight in his arms.

~.~

She was falling, she could feel it. Maya tried moving, but all she could do was breathe, which put her on her nerves. She didn't like feeling unprotected, and knowing she was falling didn't help either. Bracing herself was out of the picture since she couldn't move. _I'm screwed_, she thought, _I didn't even get to see where I came from_…

Her thoughts were silenced as she waited for the ground to take her life, feeling the wind hit her body, but she was extremely surprised when she landed- it was so soft, like lying on a pillow. _Is this what it feels like to die? Damn, this is much better than I expected. _

Then, something shook her, spoke to her. Maya groaned, but then realized she had control of her body again. Readying herself for the worst, Maya slowly opened her eyes and saw blue. A lot of blue, too much blue…

She pushed it from her self and scooted away in fear, trying to put distance between them, which was a mistake. The platform was surrounded in water, and Maya couldn't swim.

Catching the eye of her previous captor, sapphire met emerald and she saw what it was. A hedgehog. One of her own kind, and she pushed it away.

It was too late to apologize, though, she toppled off the platform and reached to try and grab the ledge, but a gloved hand stretched out and grasped her arm before she could fall. Demonstrating amazing strength, the cerulean arm pulled Maya up and back on the platform, but they tumbled over, one on top of the other.

Eye met eye, sapphire to emerald again, but much closer than the last time. They both gasped, looking at each other, and Maya shot off the other with deep red masking her face. "I'm so sorry! I didn't- I mean, uh…" She was completely at loss for words. "Uh, sorry?" She put on a sheepish grin and looked back at the now standing Sonic.

He gave a deep chuckle, which startled Maya. She didn't even notice- she did all of those things, _to a guy_, and here she was blushing like a madwoman. Quickly covering her face, she muttered another apology. _And he's cute too… wait, what? _

Sonic belted out another laugh, and slapped his knee. This girl was hilarious! His laughter died down after a moment, and he held out his hand.

"I'm Sonic the Hedgehog, and I must say, that was quite an entrance you made there," he greeted, putting emphasis on the quite. She took his hand in hers, which was also gloved, and shook it.

"I'm Maya the Hedgehog, and I must say, I am quite embarrassed right now," she replied with a gloved hand still to her face, also adding emphasis on the quite. He laughed again, and she cracked a small grin.

Sonic released their grip, only after a small pink stain painted his nose, and smiled sadly. He liked meeting new friends, talking with them like this. _I have a mission to return to, _he thought,_ I can't talk all day with cute girls… wait, what?_

"Listen, it's really nice to meet you and all, but I gotta go, uh, save the world," Sonic said sheepishly. _Damn, way to mess that up, Sonic_.

Maya's eyes lit up. Saving the world? _That_ sounded like an adventure.

"Well, see ya-" before he could finish, Maya started jumping up and down, which confused him. "Uh, are you okay, Maya?"

"This is just what I came here for," Maya exclaimed, "adventure! Saving the world from evil!" She poked him in the chest while bearing a wide smile. "I could come with you!"

Sonic froze at that. Could she handle herself? "I'm not sure if it's safe for you to come," he mumbled, reflecting his thoughts. He watched her face turn to disappointment, and almost immediately caved. He sighed. "Fine, you can come, but only if you can run. Fast."

Maya wasn't worried about running, she was always faster than the humans, but was she faster than a fellow hedgehog? She put a finger to her chin and thought. "Well, only one way to find out!" She bolted down the ramp next to the platform they were standing on and laughed as she ran up the loop-de-loop of metal. She looked back and shouted, "What are you waiting for?"

That was all he needed. Sonic chuckled and dashed down the same path as Maya, both hedgehogs leaving purple and blue trails behind.


	3. Chapter 3: Metal Harbor

**I hope you guys are all enjoying the story! As I said, I'm going to try to update as fast as I can, but I can't type it up for most of the weekend because that's when my mom hogs the computer for work. Also, thanks so much to those who favorited this story! It means a lot to me, considering this is my first story, and all. Anyways, I do not own stuff from Sega! Here's chapter 3!**

~.~

Two pairs of sneakers pounded against metal, one pair red and one black, both moving at an incredible pace. Two hedgehogs ran along side each other, laughing as they finished rounding a loop of metal. Sonic and Maya were already having fun travelling together, and they had just started.

Suddenly, Maya stopped running, which of course caused Sonic to stop, and look at her in confusion. They had only just begun, so what caused her to pause so quickly?

He looked in her line of vision, and saw what she was staring at- a gold ring. He held back a chuckle as he observed her look of utter amazement. "What's the matter, Maya?"

"This… thing… what is it?" she asked, walking around it, looking at it from different angels.

"Well, it's called a 'gold ring'. I guess you could call it the currency around here," he explained, mentally smirking when her hand started to reach out in an attempt to poke it. "When you touch it," her hand reached the ring, but only for a second before it disappeared, making Maya yelp and step back in surprise, "it disappears." He chuckled at her response.

"Where does it go?" She asked, pure curiosity etched on her face. "Stop laughing!"

"Nobody really knows where it goes; you just know that it's with you." That only seemed to make her more confused, but she shrugged it off. They both dashed forward, Maya grabbing the last few rings in that spot, and shot off to the next narrow path.

Running under a couple of metal roofs, the hedgehogs used a large spring to reach a higher platform. Both of them passed through the blue bars at the same time, but seeing as ahead of them was a set of small springs, Sonic let Maya run in front of him. She jumped up, did a flip, then landed on the spring with ease, following the path of springs. "Show off," Sonic mumbled quietly, right before proceeding to do the same thing.

They landed on a small island of concrete, but noticed they were stuck. The next island was too far to jump, and there was nothing connecting the two islands together. Sonic noticed the beetle enemies between the islands, but Maya did not.

"How are we supposed to get across?" she wondered out loud, turning to look at Sonic, who took a knee. _What the hell is he doing?_

"Well?" He motioned her over to him, and she reluctantly complied, slowly making her way over to him. Once she reached him, he moved his hands down to his back. "Get on."

"W-what?" Her face flushed.

"Get on my back."

"Wha-what? Why?"

"I'm going to carry you across," he said, as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

"Alright," she mumbled, her feet slightly hesitating before placing her body against Sonic's blue back, a furious blush stretching from her face to her neck. Feeling her hands rest on his shoulders, Sonic stood up.

"You ready?" He asked, positioning himself to jump.

"I guess-" As soon as the words left her mouth, they were sailing above the water. Maya clenched her eyes shut, but peeked one open and saw what Sonic was doing- he was using the beetles as stepping stones. One by one, the floating metal enemies flew by, and the next island got closer. His foot landed on the last beetle, and he launched forward one last time, landing on the gigantic concrete block with ease.

Maya slowly put one foot on the ground and pulled herself off of Sonic, and she had to hold back a whimper at the loss of heat. Sonic looked around for a moment, then rested his eyes on the next path. There wasn't one. There was only a trail of rings.

He scanned the area again, then noticed a red pulley contraption inside an unfinished metal tower. He looked behind his shoulder at Maya. "Wait here," he instructed, making sure to catch her eye before jogging under the red pulley. _How can eyes be such a beautiful shade of sapphire?_

Shaking his head of the thought, he grasped the handle, and was pulled up almost immediately. Once at the top, he walked up to a circle of stone that glowed green, suspending a pair of running-shoes in the air that were almost identical to the ones already on his feet.

Quickly grabbing them and slipping them on, Sonic jumped from the tower and landed on the ground with ease, nearly giving Maya a heart attack from suddenly seeing Sonic in front of her. He grinned at her reaction, and crouched down once again.

"Let's get going," he said, missing the confusion etched on her face.

"What? There's no path, Sonic!" she exclaimed.

"Do you trust me, Maya?"

She didn't hesitate when she answered.

"Of course I do!"

"Then let's go!"

She let out an exasperated sigh and climbed on his back once again, content with feeling his warm body again. All of the sudden, they shot forward, heading toward the path of rings.

Maya's eyes widened, and she was about to shout at Sonic to not be stupid, but the moment his feet touched the first ring, the pair launched into the line of rings and kept soaring until they were safely over land. As soon as they touched ground, they heard jets fly overhead. Small explosions invaded parts of the path ahead of them, but Sonic easily maneuvered around each one. _Are these jets… bombing us?_

"Why are they attacking us, Sonic?" Maya asked, desperate to know why humans would want to bomb two harmless hedgehogs. She heard him sigh, but a small silence hovered over them for a moment before he actually spoke.

"I'll tell you later…" The way he said it was suspicious to Maya, but he said he would tell her sometime else, so she wasn't worried.

Sonic and Maya bolted through another trail of rings, and Maya took this as an adequate moment to break off from Sonic. She pushed off of his shoulders with her hands, did a somersault in the air, then landed beside the blue hedgehog, smirking when he stared at her in awe. Sure, he could do it too; he just hadn't expected to be used as leverage.

They continued following the metal track in a comfortable silence, sliding under a couple of bars and taking turns riding pulleys. They ran through another air field, passing by some large planes, and they finally reached another set of blue bars.

Before they passed through them, something caught Maya's eye straight in front of them, a box that was teal. She nudged Sonic in the side, and when he looked at her, she pointed to the box. A smile crept onto his face, and he ran up to the teal crate, beckoning her to do the same.

Maya walked up to the box, noticing the strange pictures on each side, but her observations were short lived. Sonic kicked it, sending splinters flying in all directions. She already missed looking at the beautiful designs, but squealed in delight seeing a key with a similar symbol lay amongst the pieces.

"What does this key open, Sonic?" she asked, nearly jumping for joy. Maya always enjoyed discovering things, especially locked things.

"We have to get out of here before we find out," he replied. Truthfully, he did not know where the key led to, which also made him slightly excited. Sonic had seen the box a couple of times on his way through the city the other day, but didn't stop to see what it held inside. Now that he knew what was in it, curiosity flooded inside him.

They glanced at each other, and nodded. Maya picked up the key with a smile, and they ran through the blue bars. Sonic unexpectedly grabbed Maya's hand, startling her, and held his other onto a rocket.

The rocket propelled the hedgehogs forward toward a launching station. As soon as they landed, a voice on the intercom for the station came on; 'Fifteen seconds to launch', it boomed.

"I take that as a challenge!" Maya shouted, sprinting forward on the yellow path. Sonic laughed, and followed her purple trail. The intercom started counting down from ten, pressuring the hedgehogs to speed up. Nearing the final turn, Maya took Sonic's hand and jumped for the rocket's handle just before it launched, laughing the whole way. He closed his eyes, listening to her laugh… _It's like a chorus of bells…_

Sonic shook his head, opening his eyes. Maya looked down at him, "Are you ready to jump?" she shouted over the roaring of the rocket. He nodded, and they proceeded to each tear off a plank of metal. Maya released her grip of the bar, and they started falling. Both of them now on their respective boards, they crashed through a metal roof and slid down the new track.

Sonic and Maya crossed paths a few times, jumping to gather bubbles of rings. As they exited the tunnel, they threw their boards into the water, and ran the final loop of metal. Their feet hit the dark blue dash at the same time, launching toward a platform with a giant ring on it. Both hedgehogs then hi-fived, but disappeared from Metal Harbor in a flash.

Gasps were then heard in the Chao World Lobby.


	4. Chapter 4: Of Chaos and Shadows

**Hey guys! I hope you like the story, that last chapter was kinda tough to write considering all the metal… you know, Metal Harbor being metal… aah, whatever. I do not own the stuff from Sega, so read on! CHAPTER 4!**

~.~

_Gasps were then heard in the Chao World Lobby. _

"Wow!" Maya shouted, "Look at this place!"

The hedgehogs stepped out from a small dome structure- only to be brought under an immensely larger dome, with beautiful clouds mimicking the sky bringing light overhead. Maya ran up to the curved wall and stared outside, placing a gloved hand on the glass. Stars dotted her view, looking as if they went on forever. She turned around and looked down to the floor. The glass reflected the sky above, but shown a deep maroon color instead of the normal cerulean. Yellow lines ran through the floor, decorating the area with a futuristic fashion.

What really caught her eye was the stone archway in front of them. Gray stones of varying sizes lay fixated in an arch with few plants surrounding it, and what seemed like a black abyss for an entrance. Noticing Sonic walking into the doorway, she quickly followed suit, and they entered the Chao Garden.

Instantly, both Maya and Sonic breathed in a tropical scent, and they looked around the garden. A few trees bearing what looked like nuts popped up from the ground, completely surrounded in the greenest of grasses. Humidity hit their faces, already starting to dot sweat on both of the hedgehogs' bodies. Maya looked to the right of the Garden and her breath was taken away.

A small waterfall cascaded down a group of rocks, filling a pool of water. The water shimmered from the sun, giving off an ethereal glow. Maya unconsciously started walking toward the pool, and put her feet in, shoes and all. However, as soon as her ankles hit the water, she shrieked and leapt out.

"It's so cold!" she shouted, rubbing her ankles in an attempt to warm them. Sonic chuckled at her display, and looked up at the waterfall. He saw two yellow and cyan spotted eggs perched at the top of one of the ledges. Jumping onto the ledge, Sonic grabbed one of the eggs and held it over his head.

"Maya!" Hearing her name, she looked toward Sonic, but gasped when she saw the spotted egg hurtling toward her. "Catch!"

She outstretched her arms and caught the egg, stumbling backwards a few times. Placing it down, Maya turned toward Sonic, eyes narrowed in an intense glare.

"_What_ do you think you're doing hurling _eggs_ at me?" she asked, gritting her teeth. He smirked, obviously amused by her anger, which only made her want to strangle him. "Eggs are not for throwing, especially when they are that heavy!" she stated through clenched teeth. Instead of apologizing, he picked up the other egg and hopped down carefully. Maya huffed and crossed her arms at his arrogance.

Realizing how childish she was acting, Maya composed herself and focused on the spotted object instead. What could be inside something so heavy? She knelt down and stroked the egg, feeling an odd warmth radiate from it. Suddenly, it started swaying back and forth, and a large crack appeared across the middle. The top half of the egg popped off, and inside the bottom half-

Was the most adorable thing Maya had ever seen! Its cyan and yellow pointed head swiveled up in her direction, and cooed. Maya gave a wide smile, and she felt like her heart was going to explode. She picked it up, holding it close to her face.

"Aren't you just the cutest thing!" she said, earning a small smile from the creature. Maya 'awwed' at it so many times, eventually Sonic was getting irritated, though she didn't notice. "What are these little guys called?" she wondered out loud.

"They are Chaos," Sonic said, capturing Maya's attention, seeing that he also was holding one.

She held hers to her face and snuggled it. "I think I'm going to call you…" pausing and thinking for a moment, she continued, "Mara!" The Chao looked as if it were questioning the name, and then smiled.

"Chao!" It shouted, replacing the hovering dot on its head with a heart, making the purple hedgehog squeal in delight. Lifting up her Chao, Maya ran next to Sonic and sat on her knees, observing his equally adorable creature.

"What're you gonna name yours, Sonic?" she questioned, obviously forgetting the stunt he pulled with the eggs earlier…

"I don't know, maybe… Sonic Jr.?" he suggested, a hint of arrogance in his tone, earning an eye roll from the other hedgehog. Maya set Mara down next to Sonic Jr., who proceeded to crawl away together.

"Alright, that was cute and all, but I think we should get going…" Sonic mumbled, looking at Maya who nodded her head in silent agreement. She sighed, stealing one last glance at Mara before travelling through the stone arch again. As both hedgehogs stepped under the small dome again, Maya nudged Sonic in the side.

"My Chao was cuter than yours," she boasted. Sonic snorted, but smiled, and they faded from the Chao World Lobby.

~.~

Shadow was lazily hanging around Green Forest. A lot had been on his mind lately, being set free after years, working for Eggman, all of it happened so fast…

And yet, his thoughts always seemed to wander back to that pink girl…

He wasn't about to tell anyone that, though.

When his vision caught a flash of white, and the annoying blue hedgehog appeared out of nowhere with a purple hedgehog accompanying him, Shadow couldn't help but feel slightly entertained. Especially when the purple one caught eyes with him…

_Maybe they could put up a good fight?_

~.~

"Phew… so far so good," Sonic said, taking a moment to look at his surroundings. They were in a forest, surrounded by lush green trees. Rich red flowers dotted few parts of the ground where other plants stood tall, tree roots stretching all over the place.

Maya, however, was not looking at the scenery. In fact, she was only looking at one spot, where something was perched on the thick branch of a tree. A small breeze rustled the leaves overhead, casting small amounts of sunlight on the object, revealing it to be- _another hedgehog?_ Her eyes widened as the hedgehog lifted its head and locked gazes with her, intense ruby eyes burning holes in her.

Sonic turned to talk to Maya, but paused seeing the almost fearful look on her face. Following her trail of vision, Sonic had to squint in order to get a good look at the object…

"Hey, that's…"

The wind blew the treetops once again fully veiling Shadow the Hedgehog in sunlight. Anger instantly took over Sonic, and he took a step forward.

"That blue hedgehog again, of all places," Shadow said, almost as a taunt. "And he brought a friend." He turned his head towards Maya once again. "Who might this be? A jail buddy?"

Maya's fear turned to confusion. Her head whipped to the side, locking eyes with her blue friend. He certainly couldn't have been in prison… right?

"Sonic? What does he mean by 'jail buddy'?" she asked in a mere whisper. Sonic was about to tell her his encounter with Shadow, but was cut off by the very hedgehog.

"You have not told her? Ha!" Shadow tried his best not to burst out laughing. He instead turned to Maya with an amused face. "Your blue friend here hit a bad spot with the Earth Police," he told, which was only half of the truth.

To his and Sonic's surprise, Maya laughed. And laughed. Soon it was full blown howling. Grasping her sides, small droplets clung to the corners of her eyes, but she wiped them off with her gloved hand before they could fall.

"Seriously?" She barely choked out before laughing again. "They must have caught him for… SPEEDING!" Sonic slapped his forehead, but chuckled at the joke. "Please, Darky, I'll bet the only way Sonic would ever get arrested is because of you!"

If there was one thing he hated more than nicknames, Shadow despised being laughed at. He launched forward, face contorted in an angry scowl, catching the blue and purple hedgehogs off-guard. He shot a gloved fist forward, which connected under Maya's jaw, catapulting her against a tree. Blood spilled from her mouth as she drifted into a painful unconsciousness.

Pure fear took over Sonic. He felt as if he was paralyzed, but his mind reeled him back to reality.

"Maya…" His friend was hurt and he was just standing there? He bolted to her side, and cringed upon seeing blood trail down her chin. Placing a hand on her face, he was relieved to hear a slight moan come from her, although it sounded painful.

Sonic stood up slowly, clenching his fists.

_That bastard…_

"You…" Sonic's voice was cold and hard as ice. "Why would you do that…"

Shadow merely scoffed. "I don't like being laughed at," he answered lamely, even though it was the truth. Shadow opened his eyes in surprise as Sonic suddenly turned around, a furious look plastered on his now red face.

"No man should _ever_ even _think_ about hitting a girl!" Sonic shouted, anger clearly visible in his tone, "I _will_ make you regret it!"

Sonic rushed forward, but not before the previously unnoticed radio sounded at Shadow's hip.

"Shadow! What are you doing?" the voice said that was obviously Eggman's. "Hurry and get back here right now before the island blows up with you on it!" Shadow mentally cursed, and jumped backwards, leaving the other hedgehogs to escape.

Sonic's mind repeated the Doctor's words…

_Blows up…_

_Blows up…_

"Blows up?"

**Holy crap that was a long one! I'll try to get chapter 5 written as soon as possible!**


	5. Chapter 5: Green Forest

**OH! MY! GOSH! I am SOO sorry! I sincerely apologize! You have noooo idea how busy I've been recently… sorry :S anyway, THANK YOU Apprentice Harper Kendra and Sierra Zanimalini14 for my VERY FIRST REVIEWS~ Thankyouthankyouthankyouuuu! I DO NOT OWN SEGA STUFF! CHAPTER 5 GO!**

~.~

_Maya…_

She couldn't think straight…

_Maya…_

Her head was throbbing…

_Maya!_

Was that…

"Sonic?"

Maya heard a sigh, and she opened her eyes. Familiar blue flooded her vision, and she inwardly smiled. Her head hurt like hell, and she almost couldn't remember why. Almost. Darky… that bastard had knocked her out.

Her vision cleared after a moment, and she sat up, putting a hand up to her head. Sonic saw this, and supported her as she lifted herself on her feet.

Seeing the painful look on her face, Sonic couldn't help but ask, "Are you alright, Maya?" He took in a sharp breath upon seeing the back of Maya's head. Deep red caked a few of her purple quills, and his stomach dipped. _Why couldn't I prevent this?_ He asked himself, guilt settling in.

Maya noticed Sonic's somber expression, and frowned. He didn't think it was his fault, did he? The thought disappeared as his eyes suddenly flashed in realization, then panic.

"Maya, we've got to get out of here," he said, attempting to maintain a calm façade. "The island is going to blow up soon, and we have to find my friends so we can fly off this place." She nodded weakly, pain shooting from her head wound. She grimaced and let out a small groan, holding the back of her head, definitely catching the attention of Sonic. She sighed when she saw Sonic's face filled with worry again.

"You know, keep making that face and you'll get wrinkles," she said, cracking a grin at the blue hedgehog, who wasn't amused. Her grin faded, seeing his emotionless face, and he sighed.

"This isn't time for jokes, we have to find my friends," Sonic said sternly, sending chills down her back. He had never spoken to her like that- was he mad at her? Emotions were swirling in her head; it was giving her a headache, which she could've done without. Dizziness overcame her, and Maya struggled to hold herself up, nursing her forehead in an attempt to cease the pain. Black dots lined her vision-

No.

She wasn't going to go through this again. She quickly regained her posture before Sonic noticed, so he wouldn't worry. Locking her jaw and ignoring the pain, Maya watched as Sonic knelt to the ground, signaling for her to climb upon his back as they had done before at Metal Harbor.

Maya was confused. There were no large gaps in the land anywhere… _Does he think I'm weak? That little… _She stomped in front of him with a cross face, and stared into his confused eyes, silently challenging him. Sonic was taken aback by her actions, he wasn't expecting her to deny his help, she _was_ injured, right? He flinched as Maya pointed a finger at him.

"You listen here," she commanded, startling Sonic further, "I am not weak. I can take care of myself, and you don't need to blame yourself for my injuries. I can run on my own and I can protect myself-"

"Excuse me," he interrupted, now standing eye-level with her and mimicking her expression, "if you can protect yourself, why is there a gigantic gash on your head?" He spat.

"I could have dodged, I was just caught off-guard," Maya huffed, crossing her arms. No matter how angry she was at him for saying it, it was true. They both deeply sighed, and looked at each other.

Sapphire and Emerald connected, and both Maya and Sonic were electrified, unconsciously moving closer to each other. As soon as their noses touched, reality hit them, and the hedgehogs jumped back in shock, both attempting to hide a growing blush. What were they doing? Here they are on an island that's going to explode, and they were about to-

_Oh shit._

Maya slapped her forehead. How could they have so easily forgotten?

"The island's going to blow up," Maya mumbled. "How stupid can we get?" As an answer, Sonic swore under his breath and sprung forward, grabbing onto Maya's hand. At first she stumbled, but quickly caught up in speed as they rushed past trees incredibly fast. After dodging a few logs and collecting some rings, Sonic spoke.

"I'd estimate we have about five minutes before the island blows, so we have to sprint if we are going to find our way out of here." That being said, not another word was exchanged between them. Immense concentration hovered over the two as they passed by robotic enemies and fallen trees in a flash.

Purple and blue streaks passed around mossy trees and weaved through narrow passageways. The whole way they ran through the forest, though unnoticed by either hedgehog, their hands were still clasped together, assuring the others' presence. The fact that they had to travel by vine a couple of times only tightened their grip on each other's hands as they swung around insanely large trees.

By the time they had rounded their final loop of contorted tree root, Maya's head was burning. Running at such an intense speed couldn't have been good when she had such an injury, but it was either a burning head or no head at all. Soon, she broke into a cold sweat, and started panting.

Maya breathed in a sigh of relief upon seeing the giant gold ring glistening ahead, inwardly pleading with her body to cooperate until reaching the esteemed destination. Luckily, Sonic had spotted the familiar hoop of gold, and grinned at the thought of seeing his friends again.

Both of them now fully concentrated on the gold ring, neither hedgehog was fazed by the fact that the land below them was crumbling. Almost in perfect synchronization, they leapt from one block of land to the other, pushing off of the descending green islands with ease.

Manipulating a couple of red springs to reach the gold ring, Maya and Sonic flew in the air toward the final platform. As short as the flight lasted, Maya felt like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders, but mostly her head. When her feet touched the ground, though, she remembered just how much it hurt.

The impact put almost unbearable force on her wound, and her legs, expressing her fatigue. She didn't have a lot of time to recover because her gloved hand was still entwined with Sonic's, and he was desperately trying to reach the gold halo that lay ahead. He sprinted forward, too focused on reaching his friends to notice Maya's struggles to keep from collapsing.

She most definitely didn't want to show weakness, especially in front of Sonic, so she took a deep breath and ran alongside her blue companion through the ring. Instantly, they were transported to another part of the island in a flash, effectively scaring two kids who were trying to make their way through the forest.

"Sonic?" asked the younger of the two. The hedgehog in question looked up past tall, well-built robotic legs, only to meet eyes with the very person he was looking for…

"Tails!" A huge grin formed on Sonic's face as he looked at his young two-tailed friend. Boy, was he glad to see Tails. He moved his attention to Amy, who had said nothing to acknowledge his appearance. A distant look shone in her eyes as she stared into the ground. Feeling the stares from her companions, Amy looked up, and smiled.

"Sonic! I'm glad you're alright," she said softly, though she wasn't worried before. In fact, the whole time she had been travelling with Tails, her thoughts never drifted from the pair of haunting ruby eyes…

Amy shook the thought from her head, then noticed a purple hedgehog lying on the ground. She pointed at it before asking, "Is that a hedgehog?"

Sonic jumped slightly in remembering that Maya was with him, and turned around to introduce her properly, feeling slightly embarrassed he hadn't done so before-

He let in a shaky breath, looking at Maya's crumpled form resting on the ground. He didn't think that running through a forest would put such a toll on her… it must have been her wound! Running to her, Sonic hoisted her into his arms, quickly turning to face his friends.

"Okay guys," Sonic said quickly, "it's nice to see you again, but we've got to fly off of this island before it's too late." Both Tails and Amy were about to question his statement, but something in Sonic's eyes told them that it wasn't the time.

Tails immediately started transforming the X-Tornado into its plane form. Amy watched Sonic as he nervously fidgeted in his spot, looking from Tails to Maya over and over. She wondered why he was having a hard time trying to stay calm, but she figured if someone that was travelling with her had fainted, she would freak too.

Finally, Tails' plane had finished shaping itself, and after a few hasty inspections from the fox, they were flying off of the doomed island.

Amy looked back in horror, watching orange balls of fire erupt on the island. Tails winced upon hearing the explosions radiate through the air, but didn't dare to turn his head. Sonic wasn't fazed. His total focus was on Maya, who was resting in his arms with a tense expression on her face.

_What have I done?_

~.~

**End chapter 5! I'll try to get the next chapter finished ASAP, even with school and stuff! I promise!**


	6. Chapter 6: Mission Street

**Hey! I'm back, and I'm making this intro short. Thanks to those who reviewed, I don't own any SEGA characters or dialogue from the game, CHAPTER 6!**

~.~

Space Colony ARK drifted ever ominously above Earth. It had been almost 50 years since it was last inhabited by anyone. All that was left in the colony was robots- many robots…

Until Eggman came back, of course.

Taking over the world requires heavy artillery, and with the ARK still intact, all he needed were the chaos emeralds to have his Eggman Empire. Gaining all seven of the emeralds is a difficult feat itself, however. That's why he had Shadow. Sonic may be the fastest living thing on Earth, but in a match of strength and willpower, Shadow was his best competitor. Gathering the emeralds was easy for Shadow, plus he knew how to use their power. All Eggman needed now was his _complete_ cooperation…

Elsewhere on the ARK, Shadow was looking down onto Earth. The events of his encounter in the forest were still fresh in his head. Every time he thought about the purple girl, regret pooled in his heart. He had done what he was most afraid of- he lost control. All it took was one smart remark, and he had hurt her. Shadow cringed in remembering the sickening crack he heard when she hit the tree…

"Why so melancholy?"

Shadow jumped slightly from the unexpected voice. He regained his regular stoic expression, then turned his back to the spectacular view of Earth to face the speaker.

Rouge the Bat.

"That was so unexpected, so unlike you, Shadow," she said, "to come and rescue me." Shadow assumed she was talking about back on Earth, in the forest. Of course he rescued her, how could he not with the pathetic rambling of 'I can't call myself a Treasure Hunter anymore' through the radio? Also, the flashes of Maria in his head as Rouge was in the locked safe might have had something to do with it…

"But your ability to use the Chaos Control certainly comes in handy," Rouge finished, ignoring the eye roll from Shadow.

"You know, I didn't come to save you. I came back for the Chaos Emeralds," he half lied. Rouge rolled her eyes in return.

"Yeah, yeah, but then again, that's not the whole story, is it…"

The two ceased their chat when they heard Eggman's overly exaggerated coughing from the side.

"Everything's ready to go," Eggman said, slowly walking toward the pair. Rouge raised a brow.

"Are you sure?" She asked, "We only have six of the seven Chaos Emeralds."

Shadow quickly cut in, walking forward. "It's more than enough for the demonstration," he said matter-of-factly, "So, let's get this show on the road!"

~.~

Night had fallen over the outskirts of Capital City. Despite the distance, it had been a quick trip from Prison Island to the city. Tails kept in mind that there was an injured person on board his plane, which intensely boosted the X-Tornados' speed. Two measly hours later, the plane landed smoothly on the ground, and its passengers clambered out of the cramped cockpit, including the once-unconscious Maya.

…

_All was frantic in the small blue plane. Night was quickly falling, but none were affected as they flew hastily above azure waters._

"_How is she back there?"_

"_I- I don't know…"_

"_She seems fine, she's breathing…"_

_The two tailed pilot pressed a few buttons, locking the plane on auto-pilot. He reached under his seat and pulled out a first-aid kit, then maneuvered his way to the back of the plane. _

"_Let me see her," said Tails, the pilot of the plane. Sonic and Amy complied, moving aside as much as they could. He pulled many supplies from the small box, leaving his friends astonished at the amount of things the little box could hold. They sat in silence as Tails cleaned and fixed the wound on Maya's head. Once he had finished, Tails smiled._

"_Her cut is closing fine; she only has a light concussion." His smile grew upon seeing the relief flash on his friends' faces._

"_It will take her a couple of days to heal completely." he continued, looking at Sonic with a serious look on his face, "If she gets hit in that span of time, she may never heal again."_

_Sonic nodded in response. Tails gained a new, encouraging smile on his face._

"_Don't worry, Sonic. Everything will be just fine!" _

_Sonic grinned at his yellow companion. "Thank, Tails-"_

_A small grunt halted their talk as Maya stirred off to the side. Sonic immediately knelt to her side, a worried but ecstatic smile edging onto his face. Maya, to each of their surprise, yawned and stretched, as if she had just woken from a nap. Her eyes opened, and she smiled._

"_What's new, guys?"_

…

Four pairs of feet stepped carefully onto the ground and watched as people gathered and looked up at the sky.

"What's going on?" Sonic asked, noticing the people had immensely shocked expressions. Amy followed their trails of vision and gasped.

"Look! Half of the moon is gone?" She pointed up toward the moon. The other three looked up in shock and indeed, there was a gaping hole making itself seen, eerily glowing deep red. Maya was first to overcome her state of shock.

"Who- _what_ could have done this?"

"Eggman!" Sonic didn't hesitate in the slightest. "Oh, that creep never gives up!" Tails pondered the accusation for a moment, but was confused. What could be giving so much power that it could punch a chunk out of the moon?

"But… how did he manage to harness all that energy?" he thought out loud.

"It's gotta be the Chaos Emeralds," Sonic replied. What else would Eggman be searching for other than the Emeralds? "Yeah, that's the reason they were looking for him!"

Tails nodded, stepping forward. "Tails…?" He pulled out the yellow Chaos Emerald and held it up.

"The Chaos Emeralds are like magnets; they have the power to attract each other. I can use that to find where Eggman is-"

Bright lights suddenly turned on, and a gruff voice was heard over a speaker phone.

"The four of you, freeze! Put your hands up in the air and get on the ground!"

Of course. The police just _had_ to appear right when they were figuring things out. Sonic seemed the most aggravated at their arrival, but turned to face his friends.

"Tails, I'll take care of the police while you and Maya try to find a way out of here. I need you to find Eggman," he said hurriedly, noticing the change in Maya's expression.

"I'm not going with you?" She had a slightly frightened look about her, seeing as she hadn't left Sonic's side since she had first arrived. She didn't even know Tails all that well, what would she do if Tails got injured or she got lost?

"Everything will be fine. I trust Tails with everything, I know I can trust him with you," Sonic encouraged. He was doubtful himself, even though he really did trust Tails with everything. What if she got hurt again? He just could not deal with it.

"Alright…" she hesitated her answer, but realized the police were still there. Sonic looked at Tails.

"Find Eggman, okay?"

Tails nodded. "Got it! Let's go, Maya!" As Sonic ran off, policemen arguing whether or not to chase him, Tails summoned his X-Tornado and beckoned Maya follow him. Just as they were leaving, Amy was left still pondering the cops' first statement.

"The four of you… That means me, too…" she noticed Tails and Maya heading off and saw she was being left behind.

"Hey, wait!"

~.~

By now, Maya and Tails were far ahead of Amy. Apparently, while Sonic was 'taking care of the police', the military decided it was a wonderful time to show up and sent robots after the other three. Surprisingly, there weren't any people walking the streets, which conveniently made things easier for them to openly attack the military.

A few robots had already made their appearance, almost jumping down from oblivion. "I can't believe the military would just attack people without proper _questioning_, at least," Maya mumbled as she punched one of the bots. Tails laughed, and Maya blushed slightly realizing she had said it aloud.

"Yeah, they were never very subtle when it came to seizing people they believe are suspects." He fired a couple of missiles at some robots, moving a few barricades in the process. As they entered a lit highway tunnel, Maya looked at Tails curiously.

"How did you come across those robot legs of yours, Tails?" He smiled at the question, it wasn't often somebody asked how he got the X-Tornado.

"I built them," he said happily. Maya gawked at his response.

"You- you built them?"

"Yes, I built them," he chuckled. It only seemed to faze her more- how could someone as young as him possibly _build his own plane_?

"Are you like- like a genius?"

"I suppose so. I don't really call myself that; some people just assume I am. I like to call myself an 'Advanced Engineer', considering I build things like this," he rambled. Frankly, Maya thought it was adorable.

"You know, Maya, you remind me a lot of Sonic," Tails said. Maya tripped a bit in her footsteps, but continued running. "You seem quite acquainted with each other."

Tails smirked when she blushed. His suspicions really were correct.

"Shut up, Tails," Maya seethed, her face cherry red.

They exited the tunnel, temporarily halting their discussion to maneuver around crates and destroy more military bots. Just outside, there was a large electric billboard lit above them advertising Tails' and Maya's faces as 'enemies'. Maya rolled her eyes as Tails destroyed the billboard and three more robots at once. They were about to continue forward when the ground started shaking.

"The highway, look!" Maya shouted, pointing to the road beneath them as it started to crack.

"I think it's going to break! Grab onto me," Tails held out his hand and Maya grabbed it just as the highway collapsed. Tails looked down and let out a relieved sigh upon seeing another set of road beneath them. He hovered for a bit, then dropped to the ground with a loud 'thump'. Maya never noticed the other set of road however, and proceeded to scream as they dropped. She hesitantly opened her eyes after they landed, and saw Tails was laughing slightly.

"You would laugh, you're the one in a giant metal suit…" she grumbled, embarrassed that she was the only one who was scared from the fall. She looked at Tails again, but decided he was too cute to be mad at. They continued forward and were about to run past some barriers, but a familiar green glow caught her eye.

"Wait, Tails, what's that over there?" He looked in the direction she was referring to and saw an object around a stone circle.

"Hey, cool," he exclaimed, running past the barriers. Maya eagerly followed, equally curious to know what was held in the stone circle this time around. As they came closer, both noticed a second green circle making itself seen behind the first. They exchanged curious glances, and Maya ran to the second circle.

"I wonder if this one's for me…?" Tails shrugged his shoulders, and went to pick up the object in front of him while Maya did the same. She was oddly excited, knowing Sonic had gotten his own object at Metal Harbor. His was a pair of shoes, however, and she couldn't tell what this was. She reached for it more hesitantly, but as soon as her hand hit the green light, the object came closer like she was a magnet. Maya watched as the object seemed to fuse into her skin. It was like a ball of energy.

As soon as the light reached her chest, her eyes flashed white and she blinked. Suddenly, she knew everything about the thing she had just absorbed, like it had been a part of her for her whole life. Information about it stormed in her head as if she were reading an Encyclopedia on it.

_Ancient Light…_

_A Light Attack used to defeat multiple enemies at light speed…_

Her eyes turned to its regular sapphire, and she looked at Tails who seemed to be observing his new object which had attached itself to his robot legs. They caught eyes, and she walked over to him.

"What did you get, Tails?"

He beamed at her, and pointed to little rocket shaped things on his legs. "It's a booster for the Tornado. I can hover across big gaps now!"

Maya mentally squealed at how adorable he was when he talked about electronics. She giggled, and they walked toward the opposite road. Tails noticed the giant gap in the road first, and then grinned.

"I guess I get to put my new item to the test already," he said, trying not to get too ecstatic. "Do you think you could jump that gap yourself, Maya?"

She thought for a moment, but shook her head. "There's not enough road to gain the momentum."

"Right, just jump in and I'll boost us across."

Maya climbed the robot and took a seat behind Tails, making sure to hold on tight. The Tornado moved quickly, and soon they were sailing in the air, the boosters making a loud humming sound. Maya took a moment to look down below- bad choice. It was pitch black, as if it were a bottomless pit. She gulped. _Definitely wouldn't want to go down there…_

As soon as they landed, more military robots jumped from the sky. Maya smirked, "It's my turn, now."

She spun on the ground for a few seconds, making sure not to take up too much time. She could feel power begin to build in her feet; to her the feeling was indescribable. Instead of shooting forward like she normally would have done, she stood up. In a split second, she lunged forward and circled the enemies, then aimed a swift kick to each of their heads. Instantly, they exploded. Tails could only gawk at such a powerful move.

"Maybe we should switch items…?" he suggested. Maya laughed.

"I don't think metal boosters are going to attach to me that easily, Tails." She winked at him, and climbed onto a giant block as it crashed from the sky. After it lifted her up to the next platform, she stepped onto the road before it could crash back down. "Who builds roads like these, anyways?" she wondered aloud. "Maybe it's under construction?"

"Wow, those blocks are amazing! I wonder how they engineer them… maybe they are magnetic?" Tails mumbled excitedly as he emerged from the giant metal platform. Snapping out of their trains of thought, Tails fired missiles at some explosives placed on dark-gray pillars. As each explosive went off, the respective pillar fell with it. Without looking back, the pair travelled further down the highway. Soon enough, jets were bombing them, like the time in Metal Harbor.

They ran past a curve in the road and shot a rocket towards some crates blocking the road. As they continued, more jets and bombed pillars seemed to be appearing, parts of the road were tilting and gaps in the road grew.

Maya had even found a small bird trapped in a cage, and in a small fit of rage, she broke the bars shouting 'who in their right mind would trap a defenseless bird in the middle of the highway?' and took the bird- which like a lot of things, disappeared at her touch. The farther they got, the more it seemed the highway was getting destroyed. Part of Maya felt guilty about it, but it died down when she thought that she was saving the world.

She was immensely relieved when a final set of tunnels led to more civilian roads. The sun had begun to peak up, which meant they had been travelling all night. That fact alone had begun to take a tiring toll on her, but she dared not slow them down.

Plowing through cop cars and fighting more military bots, the sight of the giant gold ring made Maya speed up, wanting to take a break and let her head rest. Tails also sped up, not wanting to be left behind. Immediately after touching the ring, they were transported to a more secluded part of town, conveniently in the middle of the city.

Immediately, Maya slouched against the wall of a large building and closed her eyes. Fatigue slammed down on her head like a ton of bricks, and she winced. _I probably shouldn't over-exert myself,_ she thought, rubbing the back of her head.

"We could probably get a couple of hours' sleep," Tails said nervously, worried about his purple companion. Maya smiled softly, and within a few minutes, she was sound asleep.

About an hour later, Amy showed up panting from attempting to catch her friends. She was about to yell at Tails and Maya for running ahead, but halted when she saw her purple and yellow friends cuddled up, sleeping next to each other. With sparkles in her eyes, she clasped her hands together.

"How adorable," she squealed quietly to herself before joining in with their nap, dreaming about the black hedgehog that couldn't escape her mind.

~.~

"How in HELL am I supposed to get out of this stupid _mine_?" shouted a red echidna, currently trapped in an underground water system until he could find an appropriate exit.

"I've got the damn Master Emerald pieces, aren't I supposed to be out of here by now?" His impatience only seemed to grow.

"I didn't want to have to do this… sorry ground! Here comes Knuckles the Echidna!"

The mine now had a giant hole as its exit.

~.~

**I… am SO sorry. High school and driver's training (Yes. Driver's training.) have been reeeaaaally slowing me down. I know, I know, excuses, excuses. In the middle of writing this chapter, I also seemed to hit a snag in my brain also known as 'writer's block'. Don't worry, I promise I will get the next chapter up as soon as I can. Also, if my chapters need to be longer, please tell me! I would gladly take more time to write a longer chapter, just say the words and KABOOM. Longer chapter.**


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